Sale 1108 — The Robert Bowman Collection of Superb U.S. Stamps
Sale Date — Tuesday, 29 September, 2015
Category — 1867-68 Grilled Issue (Scott 83-101)
Lot
Symbol
Photo/Description
Cat./Est. Value
Realized
60
2c Black, Z. Grill (85B). Beautifully centered with unusually wide margins, full and clearly-defined grill showing all of the points, lightly cancelled by corkEXTREMELY FINE GEM. A SUPERB USED EXAMPLE OF THE 1868 2-CENT Z GRILL, WHICH HAS BEEN GRADED XF-SUPERB 95 BY P.S.E.
The plates used to print the Black Jacks did not provide enough space between subjects for the large 12-gauge perf holes. Consequently, most Black Jack stamps have perfs touching the design on one or two sides. This scarcity of four-margined copies multiplies exponentially when the Z Grill is factored into the equation. Only a small quantity of 2c sheets were grilled during the period when the Z device was active -- after the D Grill (Scott 84), the Z is the rarest of Black Jack grilled stamps.
With 1994, 1999 P.F. and 2015 P.S.E. certificates (XF-Superb 95; SMQ $12,000.00). Only two have graded higher (at 98).
1,300
8,500
